Hey y'all, I mostly lurk here. But I went through the agony of a bino upgrade last winter and thought I might be able to help some guys out.
I picked up the Nikon Monarch HG's after reading Matt Cashells review here on Rokslide. In a nutshell, I was targeting binos in the $800-$1200 range, with the intention of them being my every day glass for the next 10-15 years. I personally couldn't justify Swaro when I also needed to pick up a high end spotter, a tripod, a shelter and stove, new rain gear, etc. If you're like me, and trying to stretch the dollars, then you really need to consider the Nikons.
First of all, Matt's article covers all the technical details, so read that here: https://www.rokslide.com/review-nikon-monarch-hg-10x42/
I've had the Nikons since last Christmas. Most of my use has been spot and stalk hog hunting in Texas, and high country glassing in Montana and Colorado (archery Mule deer). Now, here are the things that really stand out to me personally after a year of bowhunting with them...
1. They have field flattening tech, but I don't get any rolling ball effect. Glassing all day off a tripod in Colorado had me almost giggling at the lack of eye strain, and the sharpness of the images.
2. I can glass from dawn to dark, and never feel like the binos can't pick up enough light.
3. The zoom rate combined with the field flattening is a still hunters dream! In the 30-100 yard range, I can pick my way through layers of trees by slowly dialing the focus wheel,. It lets you see through the brush, instead of to the brush. This is really helpful for picking apart briar patches to find hogs. *this doesn't hinder the binoculars at longer range, I dunno how it works, but they don't require constant fiddling when they're on the tripod and glassing distances.
Oh. And I was able to get them for $750 through LL Bean's quarterly sales.
Anyways, don't sleep on these if you're looking for new binos. At least try them side by side with the other more trendy names in the alpha killer glass class.
I picked up the Nikon Monarch HG's after reading Matt Cashells review here on Rokslide. In a nutshell, I was targeting binos in the $800-$1200 range, with the intention of them being my every day glass for the next 10-15 years. I personally couldn't justify Swaro when I also needed to pick up a high end spotter, a tripod, a shelter and stove, new rain gear, etc. If you're like me, and trying to stretch the dollars, then you really need to consider the Nikons.
First of all, Matt's article covers all the technical details, so read that here: https://www.rokslide.com/review-nikon-monarch-hg-10x42/
I've had the Nikons since last Christmas. Most of my use has been spot and stalk hog hunting in Texas, and high country glassing in Montana and Colorado (archery Mule deer). Now, here are the things that really stand out to me personally after a year of bowhunting with them...
1. They have field flattening tech, but I don't get any rolling ball effect. Glassing all day off a tripod in Colorado had me almost giggling at the lack of eye strain, and the sharpness of the images.
2. I can glass from dawn to dark, and never feel like the binos can't pick up enough light.
3. The zoom rate combined with the field flattening is a still hunters dream! In the 30-100 yard range, I can pick my way through layers of trees by slowly dialing the focus wheel,. It lets you see through the brush, instead of to the brush. This is really helpful for picking apart briar patches to find hogs. *this doesn't hinder the binoculars at longer range, I dunno how it works, but they don't require constant fiddling when they're on the tripod and glassing distances.
Oh. And I was able to get them for $750 through LL Bean's quarterly sales.
Anyways, don't sleep on these if you're looking for new binos. At least try them side by side with the other more trendy names in the alpha killer glass class.
